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Some time in the late 70’s, I stood on a bridge in South Londonderry, Vermont, at sunset, looking out at the West River. There were storm clouds clearing and an incredible light and colors of rose, yellow, lavendars, greys and whites reflected against billowing clouds. I loved the drama of that sky! The air was crisp and clean with hints of spring coming – my guess it was sometime in late March or early April. We lived on the corner, at the junction of Route 100 and Winhall Hollow Road, just below the Londonderry Inn where I worked. The river was a steady presence of the beauties of nature as it meandered through the village. I liked being close to it, witness to all it’s seasonal stages, sounds and scenes it presented. Camera in hand, I took a photo.

Some 35 years later, in my slow attempt to sort all my boxes of prints, I came across the photo, long forgotten. Potential painting, I thought and put it in my folder of “painting ideas”, leaving it at that for some time longer.

Inspiration, and a Painting Challenge

There’s nothing like a couple of new canvases to get inspiration going. Sometimes I like to just put a blank one on the easel for a few days, waiting to see what calls to my artistic muse. I did that with a 20 x 24 canvas that sat for a week until I had the urge to look in my painting ideas folder. Found again was the West River photo. I was inspired, but I hesitated, wondering if I was up to the challenge of capturing the mood of the scene. I know that falling into doubt is a sure killer of inspiration, so I plunged ahead, taking it in slow stages – basic wash of color, then a light charcoal sketch. I let it sit for another week before I prepared my painting pallette, finally starting in, laying a foundation of color contrasts of light and dark.

Once started, the painting process consumed me – day and night. This one was intense. If I couldn’t sleep, I found myself in the studio at 1 or 2 am, painting in PJ’s, crawling back to bed to sleep off my odd hours burst of euphoria or to the kitchen for coffee to keep going. I had to leave it for fresh air and walks and food, or a long restful nap. I am careful not to paint when I feel too tired, even though I want to keep going in spite of it, but I know that’s when the flow dulls. Rest periods give me a chance to study the stage I am at, contemplate next steps, what little subtle touchs are needed that make a big difference.

Completion

I wanted to take it slower, but this painting wouldn’t let me, it seems. I painted long hours instead. I stepped up to meet my self-imposed challenge. In doing so I’ve expanded my experience as an artist, learning a lot along the way. I find that each painting allows me to reach further, be bolder, experiment more and more. Crush the doubt, silence the inner critic as soon as possible and just begin! If I get stuck, I leave it for a while and consult the old masters. The painting isn’t photo perfect, but it’s my interpretation of that moment in time. It is the feeling of the scene that was important for me to capture and share.

Even though signed and dated, I will let the painting sit on my easel for a while to contemplate it’s completeness, letting my eyes rest from it a bit, and maybe tweak it here and there. I suppose the tweaking can be endless, but also good to understand when to stop. This one will be framed in a beautiful wood frame that compliments the scene. I’ve had it in my collection of old used frames for a number of years, waiting for the right painting. Whether this painting of the West River will make it’s way into a gallery or not, is yet to be seen. Some of my paintings are too nostalgic for me to let go – this may be one of them.

You are Invited to Join Us!

Cloverdale is a small town in Northern Sonoma County with a big gallery. At the far end of Cloverdale Blvd, Towers Gallery occupies a large Victorian with elegant and inviting twin stairs leading to it’s entrance. Forty plus artists have gathered to show their work – paintings, sculptures, photography, jewelry, glass works, pottery, woodworking, textile craft and more.

A new show, called “New Beginnings” has just begun February 14th and runs to April 15th. On Saturday, February 21st, you can meet the artists at the opening reception.

Happy to be a featured artist in this show, I have been on a roll in my studio the last two months painting in preparation, building my inventory. Now that this show is hung, a wave of new paintings are on the horizon, still swimming in my head, waiting to manifest on canvas. These days, my easel is not empty long. I need more inventory, but I don’t want to rush it. Every painting is an experiment. Every painting teaches me. I like to savor the process and feel what pulls me to paint. When I am stuck, I look up the masters and contemplate their expressions in paint, or pull out an acrylic techniques book or peruse local artists works. Like life, we never stop learning, and in doing so, we keep expanding our perspective.

My art shows my eclectic wanderings. You can view two walls of my journey in art as you enter the gallery. Down the hall and around the corner is a little alcove with my textile craft of colorful pillows and a few more paintings. Art celebrates life, creative imagination and emotional expression. The Gallery is delightfully filled with it. Art moves us in a personal way when we resonate with a particular piece. Incorporating art that you love into your home is the ultimate sharing from the artist to you and keeps us all inspired.

“It is so easy to make the finding of the path so much more complicated than it really needs to be because from within you know if you have been willing to tune yourself to feeling good, no matter what, so that that’s what matters most to you…then in your natural quest for joy you’ll just keep being on your path…your path unfolds.” – Abraham-Hicks

The path never ends – it just keeps expanding. The revelation, for me personally today in this new year, is that we either allow the flow or we block it. The trick is to recognize and understand the blocks, release and allow the flow to return ones self to balance. Joy within provides the balance and is the key to the flow.

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My inspiration for two of my three new paintings came from my nostalgic wanderings through old photos of people and places.

Many years ago, I walked along this beautiful stretch of Rhode Island coast whose beach sands stretched as far as the eye could see. The sunsets were spectacular and I had captured many a photo of them.

Battenkill Fog. Vermont days ~ I had ventured out early with my camera especially to capture fog rising along the river, thistles in bloom in a mauve haze. The fog lends a aura of mystery that I love and pushes my imagination to mystical places.

Battenkill FogAcrylic on Canvas8 x 8

China Beach Fishing April 2014 – Walked the coast trail to China Beach, San Francisco. Misting and gray. One of my photos taken along the way inspired the painting –

China Beach Fishing ~ Acrylic on Canvas 8 x 8

More strolls down memory lane on the agenda for 2015 – On the Easel now – sketch of Mykonos harbor in the evening light from a 1981 photo. Through these paintings, I am appreciating where I’ve been, as well as my connections to people and places that have enriched my life.

2015 ~ May you fill it up with joy in living, loving, inspiration, passion and creative expression! Peace and Blessings to all who visit here.

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A lot has changed since the early days of my arts and crafts journey, but one that I love o go back to now and then is stenciled art. Living in Vermont in the 70’s and 80’s, I began to study the history and evolution of stenciled art that permeated a lot of early American history. Adele Bishop was one of my stencil craft artist idols, who lived in the nearby town of Dorset. She helped to popularize again, the art of stencil craft.

My Stenciling Craft Inspiration

I soon began designing my own stencils and applied them mostly to linens, clothing, pillows and wood. When I moved to California in 1996, the kind of New England stenciling I was doing didn’t seem to fit, so I gave up stenciling for a while. After a time, I started stenciling walls–decorating a kitchen for a realtor’s rental, the entrance foyer of my son’s family home, as well as their store that he and my daughter-in-law opened in Mill Valley called Monarch. The stencils are still there today, filling the walls and archways that blend with the Indian theme of their import business with colorful designs that are still vibrant after over ten years. Stop by to see them at 27 Throckmorton Ave, Mill Valley, CA, or take a 360 virtual tour by clicking on the link below, where you can see the stencils throughout the store. And of course you can do some fabulous shopping while enjoying an up-close view of the stencil work.

Living in Sedona, AZ for a few years in 2005 to 2007, my stenciling showed up on canvas floor cloths, reflecting the influence of Native American Art that I experienced there. This rug still sits in my hallway, as vibrant as ever. Canvas floor cloths, time intensive to create, are long lasting and surprisingly easy to keep clean. In 2015, I plan to start a whole series of floor cloths. Stay tuned to see them emerge as they manifest from my design graft paper to reality!

Indian Baskets 2006

Today I notice that this type of stenciling seems to be taking on new forms and applications while coming to the attention of Californians to a greater degree than when I first arrived here. I recently pulled out a box of my original cut stenciled designs. Ideas for future craft work and decorative art are beginning to take form and sprout from idea seeds planted long ago. I will use my own home as the testing ground.

Kitchen Entryway Decorative Art

The painting of my entryway hall and front door spilled out to the kitchen entry. The door way sits at an angle to the living room. With the front door newly painted a warm mustard yellow, I decided to carry that color connection to the kitchen entry. As all things paint tend go with me, I just kept getting inspired to do more, which led to stencils I designed in 1982 to apply to curtains. The great thing about stencils is that you can create a totally different look than the actual cut stencil by using pieces of it at different angles, which is what I did here to create this fanciful entry. I also experimented with some paint effects to create a “marble” insert under the trees.

Stencil Detail

I now have an inviting new entryway into my home, just in time to welcome family in for Thanksgiving!

Full View of Hallway (trick of the light – front door & stenciled entry are really the same color)

Artistic journeys wander through a network of past and present. Sometimes the smallest sketch or long forgotten works spark new inspiration to be renewed in a way that reflects who you are now. Look at the your old art. Recreate it to reflect who you are today, for it is the basis for your now time–the moment that really counts. Creativity may rest, but it always picks up again and is as endless as your imagination. Keep it flowing in new ways. Enjoy it, play with it, have fun with it.

I INVITE YOU to meander through the rooms of art at Towers Gallery in Cloverdale, California. I an delighted to be among the many artists of Sonoma county showing their work in this fall’s exhibition, now in progress.

Seven paintings in acrylic grace two walls at the gallery. One of the front rooms features lovely displays of fabric art, glass, wood, jewelry and pottery. Among them are an array of my one of a kind pillows.

My hope is to entice you to take a lovely drive to Sonoma County north, through Alexander Valley and to this little town with the big Victorian housing the gallery. Be inspired by the many artists exhibiting there, and may you be dazzled by their creative spirit.

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COMINGS AND GOINGS ~ New and exciting times out of Wind In Her Hair Art Studio with positive changes coming right up!

First~ I am moving out of my craft space in Gin’Gilli’s Vintage Home in Geyserville, CA; Final day is November 15th – Check out some good sales on my pillows and art lamps! Sad to go, but this was a good marketing learning experience.

Second ~ I am so excited to be joining the artisans at Made Local Marketplace on 5th Street in Santa Rosa, CA. Delivering my pillows, buntings and a few lamps next week! Check it out at www.madelocalmarketplace.com

Third ~ I will be exhibiting six paintings at Towers Gallery in Cloverdale, CA as part of their new show starting November 2, 2014. Watch my blog for the flyer announcing the opening! You will also be able to find my designer pillows in the craft section of their gallery. I am very thrilled to be part of this talented collective of artists. Check out: www.towersgallery.com

Click on the Fine Arts tab in the menu bar to see some of the paintings that will be part of this show; click on Fabric Art / Pillow Gallery for my designer pillow collection.

She moves out of the mist to speak to humanity, her heart chakra aglow, to remind us of our oneness with all things and that Love is the foundation as we create within ourselves and co-create with the larger world around us. This flower Deva boldly expresses grace and beauty as well as strength. She is back lit with Divine light encouraging us to expand into understanding of who we really are.

We of the large family of Cosmic Cowgirl group of artists have been praying through painting, poetry and ceremony as our matriarch mentor, Sue Hoya Sellars moves through a challenging healing journey….maybe more challenging for us than for her, as she is floating and allowing what is, and we have been somewhat resistant to let go of our human experience with her….for she is greatly loved. What she has given us, and continues to give us never ends. It just keeps expanding.

Circle of Deva’s

My painting journey to a deeper embrace and connection with nature and all her realms.

A weekend painting intensive brought forth the Plumeria Deva. Instead of heading off to bed, which was my original intention, it was one of those times when I was pulled into the art studio at 10:30 pm Friday night, with a strong impulse to get going on this painting. Driven, I worked hard all weekend. This morning I was up early and was painting in my PJ’s. When I am immersed in art, there is a pull so strong inside all else falls away – there is only the painting. That was the state I was in, adding various refinements, until she came to full completion.

Plumeria Deva – Acrylic on Canvas Board, 16 x 20

I am noticing as I paint each Deva in this series, the personalities that come out as I paint. The initial drawing may show one aspect, but as I paint the face and flowers, the personality her features evoke moves through several shifts until I feel she arrives at where she wants to be within the painting.

Now it won’t be long before I start on the final and 4th panel of this series. I am anxious to have this last Deva join her sisters and to share with you my reflections and the message that nature is sending out through their emergence as I paint.

“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not’?” – George Bernard Shaw

Albert Einstein said: “Creativity is contagious, pass it on” – That is my desire in sharing with all who visit here–spawning contagious creativity! Be joyful in all you do.

Letting go of the 60’s years and back beyond with it’s sometimes bumpy road, it’s highs, its lows, it’s sorrows, forgiveness’s and the stuckness of spinning wheels. Enough now, it’s all passed. No more resistance ~ more allowing, in harmony I will flow.

Turning, crossing the threshold, letting go the illusions of perceived common sense and reason, I will enter this next decade’s season following my heart, my passion, not so much my head; less confusion and more fusion, is the road to which I am led.

The beloved Crone, the Wise Women, I join you, embracing this transition, full on. I will start to unfold, dancing down that uncommon road, coming into myself, my worth, my eternal beingness, understanding, maybe, for the first time, (and it’s a long time coming), this jumping out of the “what’s expected of me” mold.

I shall spin my 70 year old heart with love, joy and connection of endless creativity that keeps me expanding, weaving life’s shining threads, that “turns to gold”, if I play the game right. Like buds ready to burst in spring, like a bird ready to take flight, I enter my personal new decade with levity, for truly, if we choose to see it, feel it, and create it, it is always A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

With love and appreciation to my fabulous children, their cherished husbands, wives , my amazing grandchildren and my two ex-husbands, who taught me how to come into my own strength, and never forgetting the courage, fortitude and richness of life that all my Italian ancestors showed me.